CROSS/CURRENTS ERICK JOHNSON
On the cover: "Double Infinity III”
Cross/Currents Erick Johnson
November 30 through December 22, 2023 179 Tenth Avenue New York, New York
Kathryn Markel Fine Arts is pleased to present “Cross/Currents,” an exhibition of new paintings by Erick Johnson. It will be the first exhibition held at the gallery’s newest location, located at 179 Tenth Avenue in Chelsea, and is Johnson’s second solo show at the gallery.
In "Cross/Currents," Erick Johnson invites the viewer to ponder the paradox of infusing movement into what appears to be a static visual field. This series tests the tension between possible binaries: shape vs field, design vs paint, exactitude vs entropy and above all, the static vs movement. As Stephen Maine puts it,” Johnson has a fundamental motivating hypothesis: How do you get something to ‘move’ that’s not really moving at all?”
At the heart of Johnson's approach to painting is his use of an imperfect grid consisting of irregular polygons. They are sometimes divided into smaller polygons but always painted with luminous transparent colors, employing washes and overlays that create a visual symphony of relational color juxtapositions. “I paint each polygon with successive overlapping bands of color, which are dragged and scraped using various tools,” Johnson says. These tools are handmade and work to create graphic striations and a visual record of movement by the hand. How color and shape work together to create complexity and resolution is an enduring interest for Johnson.
Johnson treats each polygon as a singular area of focus - a painting unto itself that must relate to the painting’s ecosystem. The paradox of stillness and movement invites the viewer to create relationships and differences in their own mind, resulting in a gentle but persistent tension, causing the paintings to pulsate with energy– a phenomenon Johnson aptly dubs “escape from stasis.”
Erick Johnson holds an MFA from Bard College and a BFA from Empire State College. He has presented notable solo exhibitions, including at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, VT, and Gallery Neptune & Brown, Wash DC. He has also participated in group exhibitions at LABspace, in Hillsdale, NY, Bernays Fine Art in Great Barrington, MA, and Furnace: Art on Paper Archive in Falls Village, CT amongst others. He is a new 2023 member of the historic American Abstract Artists group and lives and works in New York, New York.
“Peace in Six,” 2023 oil on paper 29.5 x 22 inches
“Blue Transformer,” 2023 oil on canvas 24 x 30 inches
“Split Combine,” 2023 oil on canvas 40 x 50 inches
“Double Infinity,” 2023 oil on canvas 48 x 36 inches
“Double Infinity II,” 2023 oil on paper 27.5 x 22.5 inches
“Double Infinity III,” 2023 oil on paper 20.5 x 16 inches
“Step Up,” 2023 oil on paper 20 x 16 inches
“Triple Cross,” 2023 oil on paper 20 x 16 inches
“Half Stretch,” 2023 oil on panel 18 x 24 inches
“Stretch Left,” 2023 oil on canvas 36 x 48 inches
“Triple Ends,” 2023 oil on paper 30 x 22 inches
“Triple Ends (Version II),” 2023 oil on canvas 30 x 24 inches
“Triple Infinity I ,” 2023 oil on panel 14 x 11 inches
“Double Infinity (Large Version),” 2023 oil on canvas 48 x 36 inches
“Five Up,” 2023 oil on canvas 30 x 40 inches
529 W. 20th Street NYC NY 10011 179 10th Avenue NYC NY 10011 www.markelfinearts.com